It’s an official P2P program now. Jason was the first. Now we have another guy on deck.

The purpose of the Build a Beater program is to provide a relatively cheap bicycle to people that are willing to build up their own bike out of surplus bits from the P2P boneyard and stash piles. The idea is to build a bike that is “good enough” for basic transport: single speeds, fixed gears, city bikes, etc.

You should have some basic mechanical/bikey skills. As a beater builder, you’re expected to be pretty autonomous in your work. That said, you should ask questions and get some guidance if you’re unsure of stuff. The end goal here is to get you riding your bike.

Here are the ground rules:

Before you do anything, you must sign a standard liability waiver

You must pay $50 before starting to build. This fee can be reduced if you’re broke. If you decide not to finish, we’ll refund your money.

You can use pretty much any components that are not attached to other bikes in the shop. There are a few components/bits that are fancy and shouldn’t go on beaters. If you are not sure, ask a P2P volunteer. If we don’t have a component (single freewheels, fixed cogs, etc) that you want in the garage, then you must supply it.

Typically,the only new bits on the bike are brake/derailleur cables and housing. Everything else is used.

You are welcome to use any tools in the shop to finish your build.

Please try to finish your build w/in a month. We only have one beater builder in the shop at a time,so try to finish up so the next person can begin building.

You can only build/work on the bike during normal shop hours: M/W nights 6-8 pm.

this is the entrance at city yoga on the hill. katie gehn keeps the studio simple and peaceful. she maintains a quiet space for yoga students. she gently guides students through her classes, offers alternatives for those of us who need to take it easy, and then she leaves some quiet time for your mind to wander and for your body to sink into the poses. less experienced teachers tend to fill the silent spaces with chatter, telling you what you should be feeling, counting out every breath, explaining how your fingers should be spread out, etc, etc. katie, like all great teachers, gives you the necessary information and then steps back to let the learning happen. she trusts her students and allows them the freedom to explore and learn for themselves.

many thanks to katie for inviting us to share our stories and for offering to share her peaceful space. pedals2people collected 10 donated bikes, and we met some interested future volunteers!

i think the bike is a tool–a vehicle that brings people together, that empowers folks, and builds healthier communities. we all hold those beliefs in our hearts at pedals2people. we love biking. it’s fun. and it makes us feel good.

critical mass is a bike event that brings people together, usually about 20 +/- in spokane. for the most part, they’re fun. my young daughter has come with me on a couple rides. she honks her horn and waves at people. i ring my bell and smile.

this year’s halloween ride pushed the envelope more than i was comfortable with.

it’s hard when you’re riding in a large group, especially a leaderless group :,,) how many lanes do you occupy? do you block intersections or split up and wait at the next light? how do you respond to angry drivers? celebration ride or protest? ask 10 different critical-massers these questions, and you’ll likely get 10 different answers.

if i’m answering, i say…

share the road, so don’t take more than two lanes.

split up and catch the group at the next light (the way lights are timed downtown, this works easily).

tomorrow is karma yoga night at city yoga. beth and i will be joining the class. we’ll also give some info about P2P afterwards. and, if your old bike is just hogging up space in your garage, bring it on by! your old wheels will bring mobility, independence, and new skills to people in ghana. this karma yoga class will benefit our organization and also the Village Bicycle Project in moscow, idaho.

it should be fun. i haven’t been consistent with my yoga practice lately (i.e. haven’t done any in about 3 months), so i’ll try and take it easy :,,) see the link for some guidelines.

The Scoop is sponsoring a photo contest and sale called “Viewed by Bike.”

It’s a neat idea. And to be successful, it requires participation from you.

The Basic Plan

Your piece of this project is, well, fundamental to its success. You take pictures of bikes, from bikes. Go nuts: anything bike related is good stuff. Or if you already have a really cool picture of you on a bike when you were a kid, that’s a good submission.

Then, submit the photos to Pedals2People by email (pedals2people@gmail.com) or drop off hard copies at The Scoop (25th and Monroe).

We’ll print 8×10’s of the submitted photos and hang them all over the walls of the Scoop. They’ll be for sale, cheap. They’ll be there December and January.

So this means when you give us your photo you are giving us the rights to it too.

The Calendar Idea

I’m still waiting to hear from that super cool desktop publisher designer person that will design a bitchin calendar with the best photos. If that person emerges and designs a cool calendar, we’ll print up a batch of 2008 calendars and sell those. That means that this guru designer person also needs to understand how to create a printable product — like, something we can take to a printer. If that guru is you, please contact us!

Which are the best photos? I like Joe’s idea of how to select the top 12 photos: we’ll do a people’s choice type thing. Or better yet, maybe we can find a way to squeeze them all in there. I don’t know. But I do like the idea of a P2P calendar. With little events on random days: May 12th 2008: “you better be riding your bike to work today!” Or,June 22nd: “First overnighter of the year – meet at Bowl and Pitcher”. Stuff like that.

Some Technical/Detail Goo

If you bring a photo (as in a hardcopy,as in, your childhood bike photo) we can scan and then print, and then give your photo back.

If you’re submitting via email make sure the photo is good for printing at 8 x 10. I’d say 1600 x 2000 or so on the low end and 2400 x 3000 on the big end. No weird-o file types please. Jpeg preferred.

Deadline: Dec 3rd.

Limit: 2 submissions per person.

I don’t think we’ll make a gob of money off of this deal, but I’m ok with that. I’d love to walk into the Scoop (where I coffee just about every day) and see a ton of bike photos everywhere. And then to produce a calendar out of the deal too. That would be fun and a perfect holiday gift for your favorite cyclist.